The increasing use of recyclable articles such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, in grocery and convenience stores, and the payment of a fee for the return of such articles has resulted in large quantities of such articles being returned to the stores. In the past machines have been provided that crush aluminum cans individually and placed in relatively large cardboard boxes or special receptacles. This procedure results in a package of loose articles that takes up considerable space and is difficult to stack and transport.
The Can Pak 50 Cancellator, a product of the CP Manufacturing Company of National City, Calif. is an example of a machine presently in use by grocery and convenience stores and the like. This machine uses a hopper and conveyor that delivers cans and glass to a crusher.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,248 discloses a machine into which aluminum cans are fed one at a time into the machine and a relatively large, heavy bale is formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,496 discloses a machine with a vertical ram having a platen that moves down in a compaction chamber. This machine requires a feed hopper forwardly of the compaction chamber and is a relatively large and tall machine since the final bale structure is made up of a succession of charge feeds and the bale is on the order of 20 to 50 pounds.